[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF MR. JOEL STUBBLEFIELD

  (Mr. BOOZMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a 
dedicated educator, Joel Stubblefield, who passed away last week. Mr. 
Stubblefield assumed the role of chancellor at the University of 
Arkansas, Fort Smith, in 2002. Without his vision and efforts, that 
role would have never existed. While he always gave the credit to 
others, Mr. Stubblefield's initiatives transformed Westark, which was a 
very successful 2-year community college which he had been president of 
for many, many years, into a full-fledged 4-year institution that 
became part of the University of Arkansas system.
  Under his stewardship, UAFS blossomed, the faculty ranks doubled, 
student enrollment nearly doubled and private giving, a measure of the 
school support, skyrocketed. He worked tirelessly to accomplish these 
feats. In fact, he worked so hard that at one point the school's 
trustees had to vote to force him to take a vacation.
  Madam Speaker, 2 days ago I joined over 1,000 people at the UAFS 
campus to say our final good-byes to Joel Stubblefield. While he may no 
longer be with us, the impact he left on the community of Fort Smith 
will remain literally for generations to come. He was dedicated in 
every way to making a difference in the lives of his students, and our 
communities are a better place because of his efforts.

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